Marine pedomotor

ABSTRACT

A water ski consisting of a board for supporting a prostrate person on the water surface and a pedal-operated propulsion means mounted beneath the board and adjustable in position according to the height of the person.

United States Patent Guy Alan Glover Cummins Farm Stockland, Honiton,Devon, England Aug. 19,1968

June 22, 1971 Aug. 23, 1967 Great Britain Inventor Appl. No. FiledPatented Priority MARINE PEDOMOIOR 1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figs.

03. Cl 1l5/26.3 Int. Cl B63h 16/12 Field of Search 9/310;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Church 1,030,525 6/1912 Myers115/21 UX 2,379,526 7/1945 Horton 115/25 2,990,805 7/1961 .Iacusl15/26.3

3,185,125 5/1965 Haman... 115/26.3

918,029 4/1909 Ferrari 1l5/26.3

FOREIGN PATENTS 414,490 8/1946 Italy 115/26.3

Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Paul E. SaubererAttorney-Norris and Bateman ABSTRACT: A water ski consisting of a boardfor supporting a prostrate person on the water surface and apedal-operated propulsion means mounted beneath the board and adjustablein position according to the height of the person.

According to the invention an appliance for the purpose mentionedconsists basically of a ski of a size sufficient to support a person ina prostrate or reclining position and fitted with pedal operatedpropulsion means.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings wherein,

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a water ski according to the invention and,

FIG. 2 is a side view of the ski shown in FIG. 1.

The ski shown in the drawings comprises a separately moulded and bondedhull 1 and deck 2 of polyester resin and/or glass fiber or of any othersuitable material or combination of materials. This hull 1 has a broadportion 3 for supporting a rider in a prostrate position and having tworearwardly projecting fingers 4 and 5 for supporting a slidable deck 6bearing a propulsion unit whilst allowing the legs of the rider to passtherebetween.

The leading edge portion 7 of the hull is curved upwards to facilitatepassage of the ski along the surface of the water and the length of theski from the leading edge to the tips of the fingers is about sevenfeet. Hand grips 8 are provided at the edge of the deck. A window 9extending vertically through the deck and hull is provided forsubsurface observation by the rider. The window is provided by anunbreakable plate of glass 10 in the hull moulding, a funnel 11 which isintegral with the hull moulding and a snorkelling mask 12 (with theglass removed) cemented to the deck 2.

The slidable deck 6 is preferably constructed of marineplywood and canbe adjusted in position on shoulders on the fingers 4 and 5 of the hullaccording to the height of the rider. Slots 13 of the rear of the deckprovide hand grips.

The slidable deck 6 carries two vertical plates 14 and 15 supporting arudder l6 and a propulsion unit 17. The rudder 16 is controlled fromhandles 18 near the handgrips 8 by nylon lines 19 passing through tubes20 bonded into the hull. As shown a wooden bridge 21 may extend betweenthe plates below the rudder to provide rigidity. The rudder is held inposition by two trunnion-type hinges (not shown).

The propulsion unit comprises submerged pedals 22 beneath the deck fordriving a propeller 23 through a gear box 24. The pedals areconveniently of the standard form constructed as bicycle equipment withstraps 25 provided to prevent slipping of the feet. The gear box isconveniently a modified two-speed hand drill providing an output speedratio of 8:1. The propeller is four-bladed having 5 inches wide bladeswith a pitch of 30.

It will be understood that, in use, the rider lies face downwards on theski and propels himself by a simple pedalling action and that the skimust be balanced so that with the rider in position the propeller is atan adequate depth below the water surface.

Iclaim:

l. A water ski of a size sufficient to support a person in a prostrateor reclining position comprising a hull having a forward fixed deckportion extending transversely of the ski adapted to underlie the upperpart of the persons body and opposite side members extending rearwardlyfrom the fixed deck in sufficient laterally spaced relation to enablethe person's legs to extend therebetween, a rearwardly disposedlongitudinally slidable transverse deck portion bridging the rear endsof said side members with its opposite side edges mounted on slide guidemeans on said side members for selective longitudinal displacement alongthe ski to suit the height of the person on the ski, support meansincluding a pair of spaced apart plates depending downwardly from saidslidable deck, pedals mounted on said plates and submerged below saidslidable deck accessible to the feet of said person, gearing supportedbetween said plates and connected to said pedals, a

propeller supported from said plates and operable connected 0 saidgearing, a rudder supported by said plates, and a flexible operatingcable extending from a point near the forward end of said fixed deckportion to said rudder so that said rudder may be operated by hand bysaid person.

1. A water ski of a size sufficient to support a peRson in a prostrateor reclining position comprising a hull having a forward fixed deckportion extending transversely of the ski adapted to underlie the upperpart of the person''s body and opposite side members extendingrearwardly from the fixed deck in sufficient laterally spaced relationto enable the person''s legs to extend therebetween, a rearwardlydisposed longitudinally slidable transverse deck portion bridging therear ends of said side members with its opposite side edges mounted onslide guide means on said side members for selective longitudinaldisplacement along the ski to suit the height of the person on the ski,support means including a pair of spaced apart plates dependingdownwardly from said slidable deck, pedals mounted on said plates andsubmerged below said slidable deck accessible to the feet of saidperson, gearing supported between said plates and connected to saidpedals, a propeller supported from said plates and operable connected tosaid gearing, a rudder supported by said plates, and a flexibleoperating cable extending from a point near the forward end of saidfixed deck portion to said rudder so that said rudder may be operated byhand by said person.